Today, HUD published its 2018 Difficult Development Areas (DDAs) and Qualified Census Tracts (QCTs), effective January 1, 2018. Low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) allocations for designated areas are eligible for a basis boost of up to 30%.

HUD is required to annually designate DDAs, which are areas with high construction, land, and utility costs relative to area median gross income, and QCTs, which are areas either in which 50% or more of the households have an income which is less than 60% of the area median gross income or which have a poverty rate of at least 25%. The designations are based on FY17 Small Area Fair Market Rents (FMRs) and the American Community Survey (ACS), among other data.

For more information on DDAs and QCTs, please click here. To read the Federal Register Notice online, please click here.